French fashion and decor print catalog La Redoute is rolling out an iPhone application that will let shoppers snap a photo of an item and buy it directly from their mobile device.

The company partnered with LTU technologies to use the company’s image recognition software. The Pix&Find application lets users view a description of an item from the catalog and then add it to their shopping bag.

“We implemented the solution to create a bridge between the different channels – the mobile phone and the catalogue,” said Emilie Dedes, ecommerce and mcommerce project manager at La Redoute, Paris.

“The first La Redoute iPhone application, which came out in March 2010, made it possible to order products using catalog reference codes,” she said. “Entering reference codes or, in general, any kind of text entry, proved to be rather tedious on a telephone.

“The objective was to find a playful, rapid, and innovative way to order from the catalogue – or from any printed media – eliminating textual entry.”

LTU technologies delivers image recognition software and solutions to retailers and marketers that help them gain customer information.

Users can take a photo of an item in the catalog using the application.

Then, the photo is analyzed by LTU’s technology and the user will get more information about the product.

“Thanks to visual recognition, Pix&Find represents a new way to use the iPhone and its camera for accessing information,” Ms. Dedes said. “The recognition stays effective despite variable conditions when the photo is snapped.

“No keyboard entry is necessary, which simplifies the clients search for products and simplifies ordering,” she said. “It represents an alternative to 2D bar code, which are too intrusive and not always appropriate for the medium.”

According to the company, they chose image recognition as opposed to QR codes to make it easier for more consumers to access product information, as well as buy directly from the application.